


Splashes and Sparkles

by KatLeePT



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-04-05 18:40:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4190745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatLeePT/pseuds/KatLeePT
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When screams are replaced by laughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Splashes and Sparkles

Regina stands still at first, listening to the screams echoing throughout her home. It is a good thing the townspeople can not hear into her home. She knows well that the vast majority of the people in Storybrooke still hate her and very few trust her. If they could hear these screams, they would be absolutely convinced she was killing some innocent.  
  
It is an innocent who's wailing at the top of his poor, pitiful lungs, but although redeemed and striving now to be good, the former Evil Queen makes no move to help him. These are not the screams she once imagined. She is not causing them, but a smile slowly curves up her face nonetheless. She's heard screams like these once before. They aren't from the dying, the dead, the wounded, or even the heartbroken. They are the screams of a little boy who absolutely, positively does not want to take a bath.  
  
She remembers another child who once screamed bloody murder also when she first began bathing him. She smiles at those memories while watching Robin, Roland, and Henry making new ones. Robin glances apologetically up at her while he and Henry fight again to pry the frightened child's fingers from the sink. Robin's almost made it into the tub with him three times now, but although they continue to draw nearer, the child persists in finding other items to which to cling.  
  
"Aha!" Robin cries, at last prying his son's grip loose. He almost falls backwards into the tub at the sudden release, and as he steadies himself, Roland finds a new grip on the toilet. His pudgy, little hands push down, and he screams again when the toilet flushes.  
  
Roland screams, releases his hold, and tries to turn in his father's arms in hopes of scrambling up his body for safety. Robin promptly falls backwards into the tub filled with water, taking Roland with him. Henry almost falls on top of them both, but he grabs the side of the tub and pushes upward, succeeding in saving himself from the water and only getting a mouthful of the huge splash Robin and his son make.  
  
He stands, looking at them in disbelief. His gaze slowly travels the bathroom. The water is pooling everywhere on the floor and has splattered the walls and even the ceiling. It's going to take hours to clean this room, if his mother keeps her promise not to use her magic. He knows his mother hates menial labor, and he braces himself, turning slowly to face her, for her reaction.  
  
Robin blows at his bangs that are now hanging limply into his eyes. "Sorry, milady?" he offers up with a hesitant, awkward, and almost shy grin.  
  
Regina glowers at him, despite the grin tugging at the corners of her regal mouth. "I told you you'd needed to take more baths."  
  
An abrupt chuckle escapes Henry. He slaps his hand over his mouth, but it's too late. The sound is out and seems almost to be hanging between the four of them.  
  
Regina looks at her son, who she loves more than anything she'd once ever thought she could love, to the man who has also claimed her heart and the child she's starting to love as well as if he were her own. Roland is still struggling in the water, slapping at it with his hands. Water spews from his kicks. But it is Henry's amused laugh and Robin's smile begging her forgiveness that capture the Queen's attention the most.  
  
She gazes at the three males she loves for a long time before, finally, a chuckle escapes her, as well. She thinks about the sound that has escaped her quite unexpectedly for only a moment before she surrenders. Laughter replaces the screams in her home as love has replaced the bitterness and hatred she once carried for far too long.  
  
Grinning, Henry walks over to her, throws his arms around her before she can protest, and hugs her tightly. Regina dismisses her immediate reaction to scold him for getting her wet and hugs her son back. In doing so, she unconsciously moves closer to the tub, and her thief, always looking for an opportunity, reaches out, grabs her leg, and pulls her, business attire and all, into the tub. Henry splashes down with them, as well.  
  
But Regina isn't mad. She's still laughing but pauses long enough to comment, "We really should go to the river for this."  
  
She loves the way Robin's dimples fill his face as he smiles warmly at her, making her tingle despite the coldness of the water. (It had been warm when they'd first started it for Roland but has long since grown cold.) "I thought you didn't like the river," he remarks.  
  
"There are a lot of things," she admits, "that I once did not like for which I seem to be finding a new appreciation." She's still grinning, and when he chuckles, she laughs again, her eyes dancing. Her soul is filled with joy. There seems to be so many new delights in her world, but in truth, they have all been waiting simply to be discovered by her or, as is the case concerning bath time and children, rediscovered.  
  
She leans closer to Robin and brushes her lips across his, her dark eyes sending two silent messages. There are not just a good many things awaiting her discovery but a good number of males whom she has come to love, the eldest of which she hopes to see at the river, alone, soon.  
  
Roland splashes the water again, but this time, it's more for the enjoyment of the splashes he's making than in any way of protest. The water splashes against Regina's face. She laughs again and makes a smaller splash back at him. Her home, her life, her very soul are filled with laughter, warmth, and love, and she owes it all to the thief whose ring sparkles on her finger.  
  
The End

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.


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